Small, 25-kg quantities of moist and dry Brassica napus L. ’Tower’ rapeseed were stored in drums located outdoors for 65 wk. Quality changes occurring in the moist (10.9–15.0% moisture content) rapeseed, which was deliberately allowed to spoil, were compared to those in dry (4.3–4.9% moisture content) seed. Moist seeds in the first 7 wk had high respiration and declined in quality during the 65 wk of storage as indicated by decreased seed germination, increased leakage of seed electrolytes, and increased free fatty acid (FAV) levels. Levels of post-harvest molds, including Aspergillus candidus, A. glaucus group species, A. versicolor, Penicillium verrucosum var. cyclopium and Wallemia sebi, also increased. Mycelia of P. verrucosum var. cyclopium caused seeds of 12.9–17.8% moisture content to become cemented together at the bottom of some drums necessitating removal of samples by chipping at 65 wk. Dry seeds, originally 11.2–12.2% moisture content before drying, had low seed respiration, high germination, low levels of most post-harvest molds but also moderate levels of P. verrucosum var. cyclopium and high FAV and therefore were also of low quality. Drying of the seeds occurred too late to prevent initial rapid loss in seed quality caused by seed enzymatic action and Penicillium activity; to be effective, drying of high moisture seeds should be carried out immediately after combining.
Aspergillus candidus is a newly recognized source of sphaeropsidin A: Isolation, semi-synthetic derivatization and anticancer evaluation
